Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and thank Senator O'Sullivan for tabling the amendment, which raises an important issue relating to the Bill. I refer to hedge cutting and hedgerows, both on farmland and along country roads throughout the country. Farmers, by their nature, have been the custodians of the countryside and have protected hedgerows to the best of their ability, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, for many years. There are issues which - not from a farming but, rather, from a road safety point of view - must be addressed to allow for the cutting, in a very restricted manner, of vegetation that is overgrown and that is causing a health and safety or motoring hazard. I include, in the latter regard, hazards to pedestrians, cyclists and runners on country roads, the hedges running alongside which become overgrown in the summer. As someone who runs a lot on country roads every month of the year - but particularly during the summer - I have some experience of being pushed into hedges when trucks come along because the hedges are overgrown and vehicles cannot get by.

There is an issue that needs to be addressed. The question that arises is how best to address it. I remember when Second Stage of Bill was debated earlier in the year. During the public consultation period, some 188 submissions were made on the issue relating to hedgerows by members of the public, interest groups, local authorities and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Indeed, very many good submissions were made to Senators by interested members of the public in recent days. I wish to thank those people for contacting us to raise their concerns.

One of the submissions was made by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, which raised the issue of hedge cutting. The Department identified the possible discrepancy between section 40 of the Wildlife Act and section 70 of the Roads Act 1993. The Roads Act 1993 states:

The owner or occupier of land shall take all reasonable steps to ensure that a tree, shrub, hedge or other vegetation on the land is not a hazard or potential hazard to persons using a public road and that it does not obstruct or interfere with the safe use of a public road or the maintenance of a public road.

Therefore, if there was a road safety issue, one would imagine the landowner could take precautions to trim back the hedges along a public road. Unfortunately, this is contradicted by - or there is a discrepancy in - the Wildlife Act, wherein section 40 allows only for local authorities or other Government bodies to carry out such remedial works as hedge cutting during the closed season in the interests of public safety. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine suggests that an amendment should be considered to section 40(2)(c) of the Wildlife Act.

Given this discrepancy, there is a question around whether we are going to have carte blanchein this Bill and allow all hedges, whether they interconnect with a public road or not, to be cut back in the closed season or the extension of the closed season in August. That needs to be clarified. We support the cutting back of hedges in the month of August in a very controlled way, but only those that interface with public roads and only on health and safety and road traffic grounds.

Why is the position not defined in the legislation? Is it the Minister's intention to bring forward amendments on Report Stage? I would rather not see this addressed in regulation because, with no disrespect to the Minister, there will be further Ministers down the road who can amend that regulation without having to come before the Houses. The types of hedges to which we are referring need to be clearly defined in the primary legislation, otherwise what is proposed is very disingenuous. We are trying to say it is for road users and to make our roads safer in the month of August, but we are also allowing other hedges to be cut. There is an issue which needs to be clarified. I hope there is some rationale for this but, to date, from the departmental briefing documentation available and from what is contained in the Bill, I have received no clarification. Therefore, the questions being raised by members of the public and interest groups remain unanswered.